My professor and competitve grading?

Question

Yesterday, my professor's announced that all final grades will be calculated based on a competitive grading system. Competitive grading is when your work is judged by comparing it to the other students work and deciding who deserves a better grade. He’s not judging each student individually. He is only allowing 15% of the class to receive A's, 30% B's, and 55% a C or below. I feel that this is completely unfair because for one: it's mid semester! He never mentioned this at the beginning of the semester when I had the chance to drop the class; 2. It's not outlined in the syllabus, or listed in the class description on the university website, & 3. This is an entry level (freshman) class! I feel like I've been completely blind sighted! It’s too late to drop the class and now I don’t know what to do. Is there recourse for this kind of treatment from the professor? Should I go to his boss? How do I find out who his boss is? Should I go to the dean? What can I do? If anyone has advice, please let me know. I need as many options as possible. Thanks.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

neniaf: not in Australia, thank goodness!!

Answer 2

Yes, you should go to the head of department which is the dean. If it is a science class, you go to the dean of science.

Another person you can talk to is your academic adviser. He/She can usually help or redirect you to the relevant person.

When talking to either of the above persons, bring your syllabus. Everything you written here is exactly what you should say to them.

Answer 3

I've been a professor for over 30 years, and I have to tell you that, whether they say it or not, this is the normal way of grading in pretty much every class. If you get a B, it is because some people did better than you did, and some did worse. Over time, we get a sense of what a B looks like, but it still depends on how everyone else did. No professor can get away with giving everyone As or everyone Fs in a class, so this doesn't really change your grade at all (and I've rarely given as many as 15% As, so this isn't lower than usual). This is really no different than what happens in every class, except that the professor said it out loud. It is NEVER the case that each student is graded "individually"; this only makes sense in comparison to other students. I wouldn't get so upset about it.

If you want to speak to the professor's boss, it would probably be his department chair. However, while you can talk with him/her about changes to the syllabus, if the syllabus didn't describe the grading approach at all, you don't have much to complain about.

Answer 4

Grade distribution for my marketing class last semester was as follows according to the professor.

10% received an A- or A
19% received a B-, B, or B+
55% received a C-,C, OR C+
16% received a D or F